Even Ohio State defensive coordinator Jim Heacock wasn't sure at times. The quiet kid from Detroit was the antithesis of the players who normally come from that rough-and-ready city.

Was there something wrong? Did Vernon Gholston really love football or did football choose him because of his chiseled body and uncanny athleticism?

"I probably at times wondered if he had the fire, but he's not a real vocal guy,'' said Heacock in a recent interview. ''I think there's a lot going on inside him, and I think he does have a burning desire. I think he does have a fire.

"I know he always wanted to be good, and the more I was around him, the more I realized that even though there wasn't a lot of visual examples, he was studying film and internally he had goals, and he was working towards those goals. When I look back on Vern and the way he performed for us, it was fantastic."

At Ohio State, Gholston, a defensive end, redshirted his first year and played in just two games his second year. He broke into the starting lineup as a sophomore and had 8 1/2 sacks. The following season, he set a school-record with 14 sacks and was named the Big 10 defensive lineman of the year as a defensive end.

Rex Ryan is hoping a similar scenario plays out with the Jets and Gholston, who was picked sixth overall in 2008 and signed to a five-year, $32.5 million contract ($21 million guaranteed).

Right now, though, Gholston remains an enigma.

Starting Saturday night, the Gholston Era begins -- or so the Jets hope -- as he'll start in place of Calvin Pace when the Jets (0-2) meet the Giants (1-1) at 8 at Giants Stadium in their annual preseason clash.

The starters are expected to play until halftime, perhaps longer, and it'll be the Jets' first look at Gholston against top-notch competition for an extended period of time.

"It's a great feeling, but at the same time, for me it's just about going out there and playing," said Gholston, who has been named the starter in place of the suspended Pace for the first four games of the regular season.

"I have the same mind-set as if I was coming off the bench or if I'm playing special teams. It's just about going out there and doing the best I can."

Gholston had heard the criticism and about his laid-back style. Asked why he doesn't show more emotion on the field, Gholston, in a rare show of emotion, shot back, ''If you want a cheerleader, I'm not your guy.''

At his introductory press conference last January, Ryan, after vowing the Jets would visit the White House as Super Bowl champion in a couple of years, challenged Gholston.

''If he doesn't do it for this team, he's never going to do it," said Ryan at the time. "He's going to get the opportunity.''

Gholston, 6-foot-3, 264 pounds, got all the reps with the first-team this week in practice, and the time for excuses appears over. He can't say he came to camp late or that the defensive scheme is too complex. Ryan's scheme is simple: Go get the guy with the ball.

Simply put, it's there if Gholston wants it -- and the Jets are practically begging him to take it.

Last season, Gholston had just five tackles and no sacks in 15 games and was such a non-factor that he was inactive for a crucial late-season game against Buffalo.

"I think he's going to be fine,'' said Pace. ''He had a tough transition last year going from defensive end to linebacker. And then to have to do it in coach (Eric) Mangini's system. That's about as difficult as it gets.

"With all the different things he had us doing. I mean, the kid was almost in an impossible situation. It was tough for me and I'm a seven-year vet."

Nonetheless, Gholston, who is laid-back and cerebral, has had a quiet camp under Ryan thus far and an even quieter preseason. Last week, he had just one assisted tackle in 10 plays against the Ravens in the sub defensive packages. He has three tackles in two games.

Against the Giants, Gholston will be playing the strong side (over the tight end) in the Jets' base defense. There is nowhere to hide.

Ryan has been conspicuously low-key with his rhetoric regarding Gholston recently after calling out the media one day early in training camp in Cortland, N.Y, asking, "Is it just me or is Gholston starting to make plays out there?"